According to the federal Drug Enforcement Administration, the take-back -- the agency's sixth so far since starting the national program in 2010 -- brought in roughly 384 pounds at six locations across Staten Island, more than double the nearly 190 pounds turned in at the most recent event this past October.

That's just shy of the record 407 pounds collected here in May 2012, but DEA officials say statewide, they collected more than 53,000 pounds Saturday, well past the high watermark of 38,400 pounds in May 2012.

Brian R. Crowell, the special agent in charge of the DEA's New York division, credits the jump in part to an effort to collect medication at long-term care facilities like nursing homes, and to the public waking up to just how deadly prescription drug abuse has become.

"The public is becoming more and more aware that this is a particular threat," Crowell said.

That may be particularly true on Staten Island this time around, especially since the borough's numbers don't include drugs collected from long-term care facilities. Unlike the rest of the state, those facilities here didn't participate in the take-back, though they were invited, Crowell said.

"We'll get them next time," he said.

As has been the case in past events, the borough outpaced the rest of the city in drugs collected per capita.

As for the other boroughs, Queens and Manhattan both saw sharp increases in the amount of drugs collected -- roughly 709 and 507 pounds respectively, compared to 577 and 280 pounds collected last October. The Bronx and Brooklyn saw decreases, though, with roughly 109 and 122 pounds collected, compared to 214 and 444 pounds at the last event.

The DEA doesn't track what kinds of drugs are turned in.

Crowell said he expects the next take-back will take place in the fall, possibly in September.

In the meantime, he said, the DEA is finalizing guidelines that would allow certain locations, such as police precincts, to set up spots where people can turn in their unwanted medications year-round, not just on take-back days. A federal law passed in 2010, and a state law passed last August mandate the creation of "safe disposal" sites.

Though creating those sites will mean the DEA won't need to hold semi-annual take-back days to collect unwanted drugs, that doesn't mean the agency will necessarily stop promoting events like Saturday's, particularly if a state or individual municipality wants to highlight the prescription drug abuse epidemic.

"It's a chance to educate the public on the current threats," Crowell said.